Is Alaska for me?

[Balog]

I know it's rather premature, but I like to plan well in advance. I'm looking for a place to live. Currently, I live in Arizona. I'm enlisted in the USMC, hope to be going to basic around January. While it is possible that I'll make a career of it, most likely I'll be in for four years. I'll either be trained as a armorer (ie gunsmith) as my MOS, or I'll use the TAP or GI Bill to attend a school for it. Either way, I'm gonna be trying to go into the gun business. I had always planned on ending up in northern Arizona. Pretty country, good climate(not as hot in the summer, but not freezing in the winter), cheap land (forty acre parcels from $15,000), close enough to my (and my wife's) family for visits, a LOT of gun related industry, and I've always thought of AZ as home. But lately I've been seriously considering the advantages of Alaska. Let me lay out my reasons.
1) CCW law. Vermont carry if you want, and a permit system if you need reciprocity. Lovely.
2) Taxes. It is my understanding that Alaska has the lowest combined state and federal tax burden of all fifty states.
3) Wilderness. I grew up in relatively undeveloped country, and I really, REALLY, REALLY hate the city. A house is bad enough, but living in an apartment makes me feel like Agent Smith from the first Matrix. "I must get out, I must get free."
4) Self-sufficiency. Everything from home-schooling our kids (when we have 'em), to supplementing our diets with hunting, fishing, trapping, and planting, to living off the grid for things like water and electricity.
5) Less government meddling. I don't know for sure, but I've always heard that Alaska is pretty low on the bureaucrat-o-meter.

I've got some reservations, tho'. Finding work is a biggie. I don't know if I'll be able to handle the cold, but since there is a decent chance I'll spend my tour in Russia I guess I'll find out . I have no idea what land costs, and there is always the fear that the NPS will confiscate it to preserve an endangered species of rat or something.

As I said, it's a few years off yet. There are other states I'm considering (Texas, Montana, Wyoming, New Hampshire), but so far Alaska is way out in front. I'm really just looking for resources to use as a jumping off point for research. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Keith]

A couple of things...

Much of Alaska has very mild winters! Here in Kodiak, it's not even cold enough to snow most of the winter. Typically, it's 40ish and damp even in January and February. Southeast Alaska is even milder.

There are no individual state taxes of any kind. Back in the oil boom they simply invested the excess revenue in the stock market and the dividends from that investment pay for all state services.
There is a separate portfolio that pays dividends directly to all the citizens and that amount varies according to the market. A few years ago, it was up about $2400 per individual - family of four; nearly 10K! Now with the market down, it's down to about $1100 or so.

And you're right about the state not meddling in affairs. There isn't much bureaucracy to deal with.

The bad side is jobs... If you don't have a marketable trade, you probably shouldn't come up. Costs are high and it's very difficult to just "work your way up" as you can do in places with a lower cost of living.

Keith

 

[TallPine]

One thing that you have to be aware of is the limited road system up there.

You don't just jump into your 4x4 pickup and head into the back country, because the "back country" is all roadless.

That's a great thing because there is some true wilderness instead of a few hundred yards between roads, but you either have to fly or boat to get anywhere in a short time - like on a weekend. Or snow machine in the winter. Some people do ( or used to ) have these big tired swamp buggies for getting around.

"It's a damn good life if you don't weaken ...."

 

[Balog]

Hmmm, would "machinist/gunsmith" be considered a marketable skill?

 

[Keith]

Go to adn.com and look at the help wanted ads.

Keith

 

[jrhead75]

You're doing what I wanted to do! I wanted to be an armorer, the Corps needed Avionics Techs...so there I was (got to do some helicopter door-gunning, but I digress...). Started into gunsmithing courses on the GI bill after I got out...Wife and kid on the way dictated that I get a regular job. Been making pretty good money ever since, but not doing what I want.

I'm no Alaska expert, but I know that being a good machinist/gunsmith will most likely earn you a good living wherever you choose to live...go for it, and good luck!

 

[duckfoot]

Hmmm, would "machinist/gunsmith" be considered a marketable skill?

machinist?

yes

Didn't someone say that the founder Ruger guy was a machinist or something, at first then made guns later on?

 

[tetleyb]

Wow, very interesting post. In fact, falls right in line with what I've been thinking about. I've also wondered about retiring in Alaska. I've ten years to go and will be getting a very decent retirement, so a marketable trade isn't something I would really need to worry about.

I also like the outdoors, little taxes, and no government snooping all over me. I could easily sell my house in California and purchase one in Alaska, on land, for much less and pocket the leftover.

One of the things which was nagging me was the weather. However, Keith kinda cleared that up for me.

What I would really like to know is: Where can I find a decent house, not very close to people, however still close to a fairly large city? A city which has the normal comforts (supermarkets, etc) I would need?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Ant Mod]

2) Taxes. It is my understanding that Alaska has the lowest combined state and federal tax burden of all fifty states.

That would be Nevada. They dont have a state income tax and the Federal tax is the same no matter where you live.

 

[c_yeager]

If im not mistaken not only does Alaska not have an income tax, they have a tendancy to refund tax dollars directly to the public on an anual basis. Wasnt it something like $2000 each last time?

 

[NIGHTWATCH]

One other thing to consider that has not been mentioned.

Judging from your post, I take it that you are single? Alaska is VERY short on women.
Something you should know if your going to consider such a big move....it gets lonely in dem dar hills.

 

[cameroneod]

Alaska is VERY short on women

A common misconseption that I hear all the time. It really depends on where you are. I met my girl here, and believe me, there is no shortage of good looking women... WHO LOVE TO SHOOT!!!

As for the jobs, its actually pretty easy. You can easily get a job on the slope as a roustabout. Just doing odd jobs on the oilfields. Pays decent, but its two on and two off. Or three and two, four and two, etc. Working the boats is also an option. Before I joined the military I worked the Berring Sea on a crabbin ship. HARD work. 100% injury rate. But the upside is that you can make enough to last you all year. That way youve got the time to work on your place, and take advantage of some of the best hunting and fishing in the world. You can do the cannery thing, tender boats, drift netters, long liners, etc, etc, etc.

On the Kenai, you can always work the tourism. Fishing and hunting guides make good money if they themselves are any good. Buddy of mine makes Ulus for a living and hes clearing 300g's a year. Not too shabby. Point is, there isnt a shortage of work unless you plan on moving to one of the islands. Then it gets a little iffy.

All in all, Id say that the move is worth it. No matter where your from, and no matter what the choices are. Id rather live in Alaska then anywhere else on the planet.

 

[TarpleyG]

I keep teasing my wife about moving there but she keeps complaining about the lack of daylight for a good portion of the year. It's my contention that is a factor only in the northern latitudes, not so much down south. Any comments about that???

GT

 

[cameroneod]

It really depends on how far North you are. True its going to be a LOT darker for about three months out of the year, but in the summer you just have that much more light. Most of the time, the days are just as they would be anywhere else. I do remember when I was in school, and I hated it being dark when I got to school, and being dark when I got out. Never got to see the hour of "daylight." Thats really only in the dead of winter though. The further north you are, the more dramatic its going to be. Same goes for the weather.

 

[Balog]

NIGHTWATCH :

Actually I just got married (March 1). I try to post in the first person singular as I find it easier. However, my wife is all for the idea. She's very enthusiastic about it.

I have this lovely little dream. Some may call it a fantasy, but it keeps me going. I see my family living on land we own. Say a few hundred acres. There's a little box canyon were I've got a 1000 yard rifle range set up. We don't have a massive income, but it's more than enough. My wife's finished her schooling and is an RN, but she mainly puts this to use by serving as a midwife for home births (she added this part ). Between growing a few crops, raising some animals, and enjoying nature's provision (hunting, fishing, and trapping) the only things we buy on a regular basis are reloading and medical supplies. We've home-schooled our kids so they're actually kids, not numb-minded robots who've had any spark of curiosity and creativity stamped out by the socialist subject factories called the public "education" system. Best of all, we're doing it without being harrassed by the government. If I want to build on my land, I do. If I want to cut down some trees to make room for this building, I do. If I judge my child mature enough to carry a gun or drive a truck (on my property of course), I let them. Even if they don't meet the "minimum age" requirement. If I want to show my kids what happens when you shoot a propane cylinder with tracers, I do (while being conscious of the fire hazard). If I want to go to town with a concealed pistol, I can. And I don't have to get permission from the state to exercise this God given right. If I make money, the state doesn't steal it from me to give to someone who's too damn stupid or lazy to work. Heck, they give me money, and it comes from free market investments instead of being stolen from someone else! What all this amounts to is that my family is free.

Maybe it's unrealistic, crazy even. And maybe I'll never achieve all of those things. But every time I drive into our apartment complex and see a cop car (I see an average of three cop cars a week, and I'm not even home that much), every time I see a police chopper chasing someone through our neighborhood with a spotlight (once every couple months), every time I have to step over the crap my neighbors have left lying in the hallway to my apartment, every time I think about the fact that some random maintenance guy has a key to my apartment, every day I sit in an office shoveling paper only to get a paycheck and wonder where 17% of it went, every time my wife steps out the door without the tools to defend herself because she doesn't have a piece of paper from the state, every single time I talk to my friends who work for public schools and hear horror stories, in other words pretty much every hour of every day; I think about my dream. I don't know if I'll get there. I don't know if I'll ever actually taste true freedom and independence. But by God, it's worth fighting for.

 

[NIGHTWATCH]

Amen to that brother.

 

[Keith]

Daylight - as somebody else explained, it varies by where you are. This is a really, really, BIG place! If you overlaid Alaska on a map of the lower 48, the Aleutians would stick out past San Diego, Ketchikan would be near Miami, and Barrow in North Dakota. Different climates, different lattitudes, different terrain. Southeast is temperate rainforest where snow is a rarity. The North Slope is true arctic tundra. Southcentral is a climate like Wisconsin/Michigan - dairy farms and giant pumpkins grown for the fair.

In Kodiak, we get about four and a half or five hours of daylight at the Winter Solstice - late December. It's actually kind of grim because even when the sun is up, it's only a handspan above the southern horizon (if you can see it because it's usually rainy in the winter). You lose 5 to 8 minutes a day up to december 21st, and then start gaining 5 to 8 minutes a day. It doesn't last long, by late January it's much brighter, the sun is up higher and stays up much longer.
By May you're complaining that you can't sleep because the sun is shining in your windows late at "night". Here, we get four and a half hours of "darkness" in early summer - but it never gets really dark because the sun just dips below the horizon and rises a few degrees east of where it set. You get a few hours of twilight with a bright red glow from the south. You can read a book at two in the morning, outdoors.

The one thing I've never gotten used to in all these years is that the summer sun doesn't "cross the sky". You don't realize until you move here that you unconsciously measure time and orient yourself in other ways by that sun crossing the sky from east to west. It doesn't do that here (in summer)! It goes AROUND the sky in a parabola, instead of "across" it. So, you lose all sense of time - so you go out fishing in early afternoon after telling the wife you'll be back in time to take her out to dinner and drinks. You're having a great time and catching lots of fish, and you finally check your watch and - it's freaking MIDNIGHT! And no amount of beautiful salmon filets is going to make amends - you're sleeping on the couch!
Or, most hunters and hikers sort of subconsciously gauge east-west-north-south by the sun. You might not even realize you do it, but you do - until you move here and hike six miles back into the boonies and realize you don't have a clue which way home is. You'd better learn quick to carry a compass and make mental notes about landmarks.

You never really get used to it, but you learn to live with the long winter nights and you learn to love the long summer days.

Sorry for the book - I'm on my third cup of coffee!

Oh, and land... Land is expensive in Alaska! Unless you've got really deep pockets you probably aren't going to get that 300 or 500 acre parcel you dream about. But, the good news is that you can do just about anything, anywhere - you've got something like 600,000 square MILES of land and only a fraction of that is populated. Something like 75% of the population lives in and around Anchorage and the rest of the state is empty. You can go out and shoot your rifles with your kids - and even blow up those propane bottles if you wish, though I hope you clean up the mess afterwards!

Keith

 

[Bill Hook]

This is unrelated to your choice of residence, but might I suggest that you get training as a machinist instead, or in addition to gunsmithing? There seem to be a lot of gunsmiths who are only marginal as machinists and the few smiths I've met who are doing well do it as a hobby after retiring from some other job, relying on their pensions for income. Machinists, OTOH, can find a job more readily and nothing stops you from cross-training.

EDIT: I see others have mentioned this too, after reading more. I should also note that a gunsmith will need to live on the beaten path, as your customers won't come if they have to fly/canoe etc. into the backcountry.

I worked the Berring Sea on a crabbin ship. HARD work. 100% injury rate. But the upside is that you can make enough to last you all year.

Bad idea, IMO. Supposedly, this is the most dangerous job in the world and one man dies every week doing it. Also, the money didn't seem THAT good, particularly if you were a tenderfoot, since you didn't get a full share of the catch. Otherwise, the guys seems like they could clear $50-60K in 8 weeks. This assumes that they don't lose their ship, which seemed pretty frequent.

 

[Balog]

Bill Hook wrote:

This is unrelated to your choice of residence, but might I suggest that you get training as a machinist instead, or in addition to gunsmithing?

That's the plan, actually. Prolly didn't make that clear, tho.

Keith: I don't know about the price of land, but this family bought over four hundred acres http://www.adn.com/front/story/4087582p-4105320c.html. The story is pretty vague about the terms of the loan, but I thought I would look into something like this. Also, it is my understanding that ex-servicemen can get pretty good low to no interest loans. And that really is just the ideal situation. I'd be happy with less.

P.S. I would definitely clean up after blowing up the propane.

 

[cameroneod]

Supposedly, this is the most dangerous job in the world and one man dies every week doing it. Also, the money didn't seem THAT good, particularly if you were a tenderfoot, since you didn't get a full share of the catch. Otherwise, the guys seems like they could clear $50-60K in 8 weeks. This assumes that they don't lose their ship, which seemed pretty frequent.

Not a bad idea. The ends justifies the means. It is pretty dangerous, and if that kind of thing bothers you, dont do it. The money IS good. Your first trip, youll most likely be the "bait B!^(H" and the money isnt really that good. Not bad, but nothing great. People quit the boats all the time so on your next trip, youll move up and someone else will get plucked from the docks to work bait. Then your making good money. Working boats is pretty rewarding. The whole point was that jobs arent scarce in AK.

 

[Keith]

I don't know about the price of land, but this family bought over four hundred acres

I think somebody mentioned it above, but probably the biggest thing that outsiders don't get about Alaska is that there aren't any roads! So yeah, you can get an old mine holding out in the boonies someplace at a good price, but you won't be able to get there except on foot, or by plane.
You have to pay for things like clothing, food medical care, and that means a job - and a job means showing up every day. Check related stories on ADN and you'll see that this Pilgrim family is living on handouts from supporters. And they owe a bunch of people money who they've screwed over the years.
People here just plain don't like the feds, so these Pilgrims are getting handouts from sympathizers. But note the central issue - they want to build a ROAD and the feds say "no".

If you want to buy land that you can get to in a motor vehicle, you'll pay a lot. Check adn.com for real estate and note the road access vs prices. You can get a five or ten acre plot without killing yourself in some areas. And there is still the "land lottery" where you can apply and get a parcel from the state for next to nothing. There's a web site somewhere with info on that - google up "Alaska Land Lottery" and you'll find it.

I used to watch that TV show Northern Exposure. I thought it was great show with clever and thoughtful writing. But one thing they always got wrong was that somebody would jump in their car to "drive to Nome". And of course there is no road to Nome. It's 1100 miles of mountains and tundra between Nome and the nearest road. Or, on almost every episode somebody would drive over to the neighboring town of Sleetmute - no roads to Sleetmute. Heck, you can't even drive to the state capital! There is an 18 thousand foot mountain range between Juneau and the nearest road.

Keith

 

[cameroneod]

Heck, you can't even drive to the state capital! There is an 18 thousand foot mountain range between Juneau and the nearest road.

Sure you can. If you dont mind sitting on the ferry for a while.

 

[Balog]

Keith wrote:

But note the central issue - they want to build a ROAD and the feds say "no".

According to the story there was a road, and they didn't get into trouble until they took a bulldozer to it. And from the way it looks, they probably only got in trouble for that because they didn't try to work with the NPS's JBT's. But I hear what you're saying, access is a big problem. Definitely something to consider.

P.S. These are the statutes they are claiming access rights under, as taken from the adn story I linked to above:

"RS 2477, an 1866 mining statute getting new attention as a way for states to claim historic rights of way across federal land."

&

"the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, the 1980 law that created Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. The law guaranteed "adequate and feasible" access to inholdings, subject to "reasonable regulation" by the Park Service."

 

[Keith]

Well, I don't want to argue the Pilgrim case here! On a philosophical level, I agree with the Pilgrims - they ought to be able to build a road! I just wish they were nicer people.

But again - what they are referring to as the current "road" is not what a non-Alaskan would call a "road". It's a trail that you can cover by foot or horse in the summer, and by snow machine in the winter. You can't drive it with any sort of vehicle - or maybe you can now after their bulldozer work!

If you pull up a map of the Kodiak road system, you'll see a little network of roads on the NE corner of the island, around the town. One of those roads is known as the Saltery Road, and it's on every map you can find. But it's not a road at all; it's a trail with a dozen or so river crossings, a mountain pass, deep boulder-filled ravines with fifty or sixty degree slopes, etc. They'd call that a foot trail anywhere else, and they'd post warnings that it's a dangerous trail - but in Alaska, it's a "road".

And there are "roads" like that all over the place. Some of them are old mining roads that have eroded away in the last century, and some are just old dog-sled trails between villages - still used with snow machines in the winter.

Keith

 

[Bill Hook]

I'm sure the connection is obvious, but the lack of roads is the major reason why there isn't a shopping mall and Starbucks just outside of Denali, etc. and that the scenery isn't littered w/ gum wrappers and styrofoam cups.